


Ghostly Encounter

by cosmic_dumbass1



Category: A Goofy Movie (1995), Animaniacs
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Bad Flirting, Bisexual Max Goof, Bisexual Yakko Warner, Child Abuse, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Gen, Ghosts, LGBTQ, M/M, Past Abuse, Romance, Trauma, Yakko Warner is a Little Shit, dares, ghost au, these tags are all over the place
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29640459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_dumbass1/pseuds/cosmic_dumbass1
Summary: when max enters the famously haunted warner brothers water tower, he's in for a shock- literally. what happens when he finds a hyperactive ghost with a dark past that refuses to leave him alone?
Relationships: Dot Warner & Wakko Warner, Dot Warner & Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner, Dot Warner & Yakko Warner, Max Goof & P.J. Pete, Max Goof/Yakko Warner, Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner
Comments: 7
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi.
> 
> i love this au you better fucking like it :3
> 
> they are all 18, even dot and wakko. in this au every toon stops aging at 18 and just carries on with their cartoony life.
> 
> TW: mention of blood, death, abuse

"Are you sure about this, man? My dad would kill me if he knew we were doing this!" P.J nervously asked, peering up at the water tower.

"If you don't wanna come up, just stay down there. I might not tattle on you to Bobby." Max said, stepping forward and hooking a hand onto the metal beams of the notorious Warner Brothers water tower. He tucked his flashlight into his mouth before climbing up a couple of rungs. "Thanks, Max, I appreciate it."

Max didn't respond, instead focusing on scaling the water tower. This was a dare from Bobby- take a good look inside the supposedly most haunted spot in Burbank, the Warner Brothers water tower. Rumors said a toon had _died_ in there which was unheard of- a freak accident according to the media. It didn't matter to Max, though.

He didn't believe in the paranormal.

As Peej whisper shouted at him to be careful, Max made his way to the top of the tower and climbed onto the landing, grabbing his flashlight from his mouth. He yanked on the large, metal door and it creaked open, allowing Max to shine the light inside. The tower was bare except for a few cobwebs draped from the ceiling and old piles of books and clothes scattered across the tower floor. Max stepped inside, shining the light around as he took in the surroundings. He wandered around for a bit, looking at the large piles of books before something caught his eye.

Blood.

There was a large, dried up puddle next to one of the books Max was looking at. It spattered around the main spot, blood smeared across the floor. Max felt a pit form in his stomach as he stared before he stepped around it, heading towards one of the doorways in the tower. As soon as he shown the light in he froze.

In front of him was four or five airborne books, flying across the room sideways as Max stared, mouth wide open.

"Better shut your mouth or you'll catch flies!"

Max jumped as a chill struck ice into his veins and his mouth was snapped shut. He quickly turned to the side to find a toon smirking at him, one arm leading towards Max with the other on their hip. The toon pulled away, shaking out his hand. "Worth it for your reaction, but _damn_ does touching the living hurt!"

"W-who the fuck are you?" Max asked, shaking. The books stopped flying and the toon bowed, smugly grinning up at Max. "Yakko Warner, at your service! But not really, I'm not some dumbass genie, I'm a poltergeist!"

"A poltergeist?" Max exclaimed, glaring as the toon floated in loops in front of him.

"Yup! Here to haunt you! Last person that came here killed himself out of annoyance for me before he could help me finish my earthly tasks so that I can leave this shit of a planet," Yakko explained, stopping his loops. "But _you_ look like you could handle me," He winked, floating away and disappearing into the ground before popping up nose to nose with Max.

"What's your name, pal? I'll be haunting you 'till my job is done, might as well get to know each other!" Yakko said, grinning at Max.

Max stumbles back, stammering as the ghost stared him down. "I'm Max? What exactly is the job you need to get done?"

"Uhhhhh, we can save that for another time, Maxy! Now, where to? I haven't been outta this place since '01!" Yakko dove out of the room, spinning as he floated to the tower door. "C'mon, I wanna see the outside world!" Yakko jerked his head towards the door. Max still stood in the doorway, finally stepping towards Yakko.

"Can...can others see you?"

"Nope! You're the only one, quite a lucky thing considering how pretty my face is to look at!" The toon winked once more, playfully snapping his teeth as he grinned at Max.

Max stared before shaking himself out of it, heading to the door. He turned the flashlight off as he stepped out of the tower. Yakko laughed and whooped as he flew out of the tower at full speed. Max winced, slowly making his way down the tower. He heard PJ call out to him but he couldn't hear due to the distance and Yakko's shouts of joy at being free. Max cringed, climbing down before hopping off and letting go of the tower.

"What was up there, dude? Tell me while we leave, I don't wanna be found out!"

Max rolled his eyes. "Who the hell is that guy, what a killjoy," Yakko complained, looping through the air as he dropped down to float next to Max. "Are you guys not Warner toons?"

"We're Disney toons," Max quietly said before addressing PJ. "Nothin' interesting, let's just go," He said.

"Oh, so I'm not interesting?" Yakko whined. Max inwardly groaned.

**_____**

Max ignored Yakko the rest of the night while he was with Bobby and PJ, but it seemed the ghost had left to explore anyway. Max left earlier than PJ and got in his car, starting up the engine.

"The world has changed so much in twenty years!"

"Holy fucking _shit,_ dude!" Max exclaimed. "You can't _do_ that!"

"Just did," Yakko smugly said. Max groaned, shifting gears before heading down the street. "So, Maxy, what were two Disney toons doing on the Warner Brothers lot?"

"A stupid dare that I fully regret now." Max replied, staring straight ahead. Yakko nodded, pretending to think that over.

"I regret dares too. Like one time I was dared to chug an entire gallon of milk. Turns out I'm _really_ lactose intolerant." Yakko said, gagging. "I think it was way past expired, too."

"Who the fuck dares a ghost to chug milk?" Max asked, quickly glancing to the ghost beside him.

"My siblings. It was before I died and got all my ghosty parts."

"Ah," Max said. It was silent except for Yakko making siren noises as he pulled a police car siren from who knows where and floated through the roof to attach it to the top of the car. 

"Hey, get that off! I'm not a cop!"

"No one but you and me can see the stuff I make from my hammerspace, dumbass," Yakko said. He pulled another siren out and floated through the roof to attach it next to the first one. When he went to attach a third, Max reach out and tugged Yakko down. The action caused Max to hiss at the ice cold feeling that shot through his body while Yakko almost seemed to have been electrocuted.

"Geez," Yakko frowned, "Coulda just told me to stop."

Max huffed and the rest of the drive was silent. They made it to Max's apartment and the toon clambered out of the car was Yakko happily flitted about next to him. "Ooo, can I have my own room?"

"I live in a one bedroom apartment, idiot." Max said as he walked up to the building.

"We could always share~!" Yakko teased, twirling away when Max glared at him. Max climbed the stairs while Yakko floated next to him, pulling out different hats from his hammerspace to try on. Max didn't pay him any mind- he was sure the crazy ghost toon would be gone in the morning.

He was wrong.

Yakko was still very much in Max's apartment when the toon woke up the next day. His see through, blue-tinted face was the first thing Max saw when he opened his eyes, causing him to let out a yelp.

"Mornin', Maxy! Are we getting started on my tasks today?"

Max groaned. Leave it to him to get stuck with a hyperactive toon ghost. Max didn't even believe in the paranormal.

"No. Now lemme get ready, geez." Max groaned, rolling out of bed. He took the blankets half off the bed with him as he made his way to the kitchen. Yakko had disappeared, allowing Max a few moments of silence. He would say he was going crazy, but those touches between him and the ghost were definitely real.

Shit.

Max ate his breakfast fairly quickly before he hopped in the shower. He was washing his face, the last step of his routine, when he heard an all too familiar voice.

"Max! Guess what!"

Max shrieked, whipping his head around to find Yakko poking his head through the curtain. "I wasn't looking, promise!" Yakko winked. "But guess what!"

"Can you _not_ look at me while I'm in the fucking _shower_?" Max asked. Yakko rolled his eyes, retreating behind the curtain.

"Guess what!"

"What," Max flatly said. He carefully finished washing his face off before grabbing his towel, half-heartedly drying his arms and chest off before wrapping it around his waist. He pulled the shower curtain back and stepped out, glancing at Yakko. The ghost's mouth was hung open a tad as he stared at Max.

"Well? What was so urgent for me to guess you just had to snoop on me in the shower?"

"Uhhhhh- right." Yakko sheepishly smiled. "I found out one of the key people to what I think my task is is still alive!"

"You don't know what your task is?" Max asked, brushing past the ghost as he exited the bathroom to grab clothes from the bedroom. Yakko went to follow before Max enforced him to stay put.

"All we're told at initiation is it's your last, most important unfinished business. I feel like I know what mine is but I need to dig a bit more on information." Yakko explained from the other side of the door. Max grunted to let him know he understood before he opened the door again, fully dressed.

"And what was your most important unfinished business?" Max asked.

"The big dump I was taking when I died," Yakko snickered while Max flipped him off.

"Fuck off. Do your research so you can do your shit and then leave me alone."

"You betcha!" Yakko saluted before backflipping through the ground and disappearing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please feel free to leave comments on your thoughts if you'd like! i live for feedback 😅
> 
> anyway ghost yakko


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mentions of abuse

Max was relaxed on the couch, reading up on poltergeists and the paranormal. From what he read, it was normal for them to have a task that they had to complete before they were able to fully die. The task was the most important thing they didn't get to finish while they were alive and it often times had to do with how they died.

Max still didn't believe in the paranormal.

"Hi, Maxy, I did my research!" Yakko's voice rang out and Max quickly glanced around, trying to find where the toon was. Yakko popped up right in front of him, smirking as Max yelped. "Hi," He said again, smirk morphing into a smile as he looked at Max.

"Don't do that," Max said, frowning.

"There's a lot of things you're telling me not to do that I can do without needing your permission, Maxy, you're a bit controlling, aren't you?" Yakko leaned forward, smug look on his face while Max leaned back, trying to keep the contact between them minimal.

"It's a joke, man," Max said, awkwardly smiling. Yakko grinned, flying backwards and doing a loop as he laughed. "I know, Max, I'm not _stupid_!" Yakko teased. Max frowned, crossing his arms.

"Fine. What did you get from your research?"

"Nothing much, really," Yakko said, floating over so he could hover over the couch cushion next to Max. "I did find out our abuser is still alive and kicking, which I know my sibs will be doing to 'em when we find them."

"Abuser?"

"Yeah," Yakko said. "Before we were locked away they held us in the uh, the office and beat us. Mentally and physically abused us. We were just kids, but, y'know. Piss everybody on the lot off and you get the consequences."

"Is that how you...died?" Max asked.

"Woahhh, take me out on a date first!" Yakko snickered. "You don't just _ask_ a toon how they died!"

"Sorry," Max flushed, looking at the floor. "I don't know anything about ghosts, I don't even believe in them." Max said.

"You don't believe in me, how sad!" Yakko fake pouted before reaching out, dragging a single finger under Max's chin, making the living toon look at him. It felt like ice was shooting through Max's veins at Yakko's touch, but the toon kept going, slowly dragging his finger down Max's neck and to his chest. As his finger neared Max's heart he shivered, causing Yakko to stop.

"Believe in me now?" The poltergeist smugly smiled. Max flipped him off, catching his breath as the icy feeling started to leave, replaced by a warm, buzzy feeling.

"Don't know," Max responded, stretching as the warm feeling spread.

"Guess I'll have to keep going next time!" Yakko winked and Max groaned, dragging a hand down his face.

"The fuck are you so flirty for?" Max asked.

Yakko grinned, leaning into Max's space. "So I can get cute reactions and kisses from hot guys and chicks." Yakko explained like it was obvious.

"Isn't that hard to do since you're a ghost that's stuck in a tower until someone comes and you attach yourself to them?" Max glanced at Yakko with his peripheral view.

"Yeah, that's why you're getting _all_ my charm, hot stuff!" Yakko winked and Max flushed, glaring. "What? It's so lonely when there's nobody to flirt with except the dead spider in the corner!"

Max wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Hey, at least the spider actually liked my jokes and flirting, you're just an asshole about it."

"The only reason the spider wasn't an ass about it too was because he was dead." Max deadpanned. Yakko rolled his eyes, waving a hand in the air. "Yeah, yeah. _You're_ just jealous I flirted with someone else."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"I'm not jealous! I don't even know you!"

"That's what someone who was jealous would say." Yakko smirked before diving into the ground, disappearing from sight. Max groaned, rubbing the heels of his hands over his eyes. How did he get stuck with the flirtiest dead toon ever?

**_____**

Max grabbed his keys and shoved them into his pocket, grabbing his phone and headphones to place in a pocket as well. He headed out of his apartment, locking the door behind him before starting up his playlist. He walked to the grocery store, shuffling along as he hummed along to the song playing through his headphones. He didn't even notice the ghost that was floating next to him and trying to get his attention.

It wasn't until Yakko flew _through_ Max that the toon finally noticed him. It was like a shockwave of ice shot through his entire body, and he froze on the spot. Yakko stopped in front of him, shaking himself out.

"That hurt like a bitch but you weren't paying attention to me," Yakko simply said when Max took his headphones off.

"You couldn't have just flown in front of me?" Max hissed, frowning.

"Oh," Yakko said, floating in front of Max as Max walked.

"Dumbass," Max picked up his pace, walking around the ghost toon as he made his way to the grocery store. Yakko followed, yakking about who knows what as Max tuned him out. Max entered the store with Yakko in tow and grabbed a basket from the front. He made his way around the aisles and picked up necessities. Yakko picked up a few watermelons as they walked by, tossing them onto the floor before Max noticed he had grabbed them. Max turned around when he heard the noise, glaring at Yakko before he sped away. "Don't fucking do that, Yakko," Max hissed.

"Wow! You actually used my first name!" Yakko said, flying around in loops next to Max. Max ignored him until they were at Max's apartment again.

"Hey, when are we gonna get started on my task?" Yakko asked, perching himself on the counter while Max unpacked his groceries.

"Dunno. Why can't you do it yourself?" Max grunted, putting some cans of food in the pantry.

"It's required your living host helps you because they've willingly let their ghost counterpart attach themelves to them." Yakko recited.

"I did _not_ willingly let you attach yourself to me, bitch."

"Yeah, but you willingly walked into the tower which means I can attach myself to you which means you get to help me with my last earthly task before I get to leave!" Yakko explained. Max groaned, putting some more groceries into the fridge before he finished. "And how long is your task gonna take?"

"Depending how it plays out, either months or a few days. A few days if they kill him, or a few months if they go to court to sue him."

" _Kill him_? Kill who?" Max exclaimed, turning to look at Yakko.

"Our abuser, duh." Yakko stuck his tongue out, kicking his legs. "If my sibs kill him then it's over quick, but they might wanna sue."

"You guys are fucked up," Max said, walking out of the kitchen and plopping down on the couch. Yakko followed, twirling around in the air before settling down on the arm of the couch next to Max.

"Yeah, but we'll kick your ass." Yakko said.

"Who's we?"

"Me and my siblings, were you not following the conversation?" Yakko glanced down at Max. "Wakko and Dot would beat that asshole up if they could. But the bitch went into hiding while we were locked away."

"Locked away?" Max questioned.

"Yeah. But that's for later, can we watch the TV? I wanna watch Shrek! It had just come out last time I was out of the tower but I never got to watch it," Yakko happily flitted about in front of the TV as Max reluctantly pulled the movie up. Yakko settled down, eyes glued to the movie while Max dozed off.

**_____**

A few days later Max found himself standing in front of the Warner Brothers water tower once more. Yakko insisted there were clues about where his siblings were inside, but Max wasn't convinced. He climbed the metal rods again and made his way to the landing, Yakko flying next to him. Max turned his flashlight on, illuminating the outside of the tower.

Yakko excitedly dove into the tower and Max smiled to himself, opening the door for himself. He stepped inside, illuminating the room. He closed the door behind him, looking around.

"Here, come look at these!" Yakko pointed to the pile of books Max had looked at before discovering Yakko. He made his way over, shining the light on the books. 

"I don't see anything,"

"I used to read these all the time, have you ever read any of them?" Yakko excitedly twirled around.

"Uh, no? I don't have books from-" Max opened the front cover of one. "1942. How old _are_ you?"

"Created in the 1930s, pal. Died in 74." Yakko dove down, peeking at the inside cover of the book. "I'm just thankful I reached 18, otherwise my siblings would've forever been older than me."

"Oh," Max said. "I'm 18 too, not actually 90 like you are, though."

"I'm still 18, like you. I run on the same aging cartoon logic as you do, even though I'm dead." Yakko flitted around, exploring the different piles of stuff left around the tower.

Max slowly followed behind, taking everything in. "If you guys lived here, how did you not haunt your siblings?" Max asked.

"They weren't willingly brought in the tower. A ghost can only haunt someone that willingly enters and my siblings and I definitely didn't go in willingly."

"Ah," Max said. He followed along behind Yakko, shining the flashlight on different things. It was almost eerie, especially with a ghost there, but Max supposed it could be worse. They didn't find anything, like Max suspected, and they headed back in the darkness empty handed.

Max got in bed early that night, pulling the comforter up to his nose. Yakko had disappeared earlier and Max hadn't seen him since. That was fine by him, though.

Being attached to a ghost was a bit much for him.

He had to _help_ Yakko by doing something- he wasn't sure what and it didn't seem like Yakko knew either. It'd already been four days since Yakko had attached himself to Max but the toon was starting not to mind as much. The banter was more playful now and they seemed to be on better terms. It wasn't the worst, and he could've been stuck with a ghost way worse. Max slowly drifted off to sleep as his thoughts calmed down, thinking of ghosts and water towers as he fell asleep.

**_____**

Yakko floated up through the floorboards, peeking into Max's room. The toon was asleep, and Yakko couldn't help but place his head on his hand as he sighed. It was a shame he'd have to die again, this living toon was a cutie compared to the last guy.

He watched as Max slept, adoring how cute Max looked when the toon's nose twitched as he dreamed. He snickered to himself as Max rolled over and almost fell off the bed. Yakko floated through the rest of the floor, hovering over Max. The toon seemed to notice he was there, though. His eyes briefly fluttered open and his nose twitched so Yakko scooted back, watching in silence as Max went back to sleep.

He left after that.

Yakko flew over the apartment complex Max was living in, twirling through the air as he sighed. He made his way to the Warner Brothers lot, flying into the water tower. He floated around for a bit, allowing repressed memories to resurface as he looked at a pile of clothes.

Wakko would steal Dot's skirts and Dot would steal his sweaters. The skirts would fit wonderfully on Wakko but the sweaters were a tad or two too big for Dot. Yakko would laugh, tell them how adorable they looked together. Wakko would teasingly stick his tongue out and Dot would threaten to mallet him when he'd take his polaroid out of his hammerspace.

He floated through a wall and into the bedroom. Their bunkbeds were still pushed against the wall, each of their names at the foot of the frame. Yakko felt a tear slip down his face as he stared at the 'We love you' Wakko had carved next to Yakko's name. The e's were backwards and the 'you' was almost illegible, but Yakko could vividly remember observing as Wakko and Dot cried, carving that into his bedframe and placing a small bouquet of flowers on the mattress. Curling up on Wakko's bunk, Yakko fully immersed himself in the memories and sobbed.

He needed to find his siblings soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: blood, death

It'd been a month since Max met Yakko. The toon was now accustomed to having the ghost around, and found he was even starting to _enjoy_ the time he spent with Yakko.

Not that he'd ever mention that to the ghost.

They had managed to pinpoint Yakko's abuser's location, about 5 hours away from Max's apartment. The ghost had hunted the guy down for a week to confirm he was right. They hadn't been able to do anything about it, however, since they _still_ couldn't find Yakko's siblings. Wherever the two were, they were hiding well.

Yakko had also started opening up to Max. He never went too in depth with anything, but Max was starting to be able to connect the dots between events that happened in the toon's life before he died.

Max rolled over in bed. He couldn't sleep with all this thinking and slowly opened his eyes to glance at his alarm clock. It was only one in the morning, causing Max to groan as he closed his eyes again.

"Heya, Maxy! You awake?"

Max opened his eyes again as the very familiar voice caught his attention.

"Whaddya fuckin' think?" Max replied, slowly sitting up so he could find Yakko. The ghost was floating above the foot of Max's bed, lying on his stomach with his head resting on his hand.

"Hi! Ya wanna do something since we're both up?" Yakko grinned.

"Aren't you always up?"

"Yesss, but _you_ aren't. Let's do something fun!" Yakko dove forward, stopping nose to nose with Max. "C'mon, it'll be fun~!" Max sighed before kicking off his comforter, getting out of bed and joining Yakko in whatever activities the ghost had in mind.

Stand-up comedy was what Yakko had in mind.

Max groaned as Yakko told another bad joke, rolling his eyes as he slowly clapped. "Thanks for your support, Max." Yakko sarcastically said.

"Yeah, yeah," Max replied, crossing his arms as he slouched into the couch. Yakko grabbed onto the mic he pulled from his hammerspace.

"Y'know, so many homophobes turn out to be secretly gay I'm afraid I might actually be a giant lizard."

Max snorted but started full on laughing when the joke actually clicked. "You're afraid of _lizards_?" He chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Don't make fun of me, those things were so gross when they got in the tower!" Yakko pouted, putting the microphone back on the stand. Max laughed more as Yakko frowned at him, giggling at the pout on his face until a _very_ embarrassing ' _hyuck!_ ' escaped from his mouth. Max slapped a hand over his mouth, all laughter subsiding as he flushed, embarrassed.

Yakko was still, mouth open a bit as he stared at Max. Max groaned, covering his face as he slid down the couch even further. When nothing happened for a while, Max peeled back his arms, finding Yakko hovering right over his face.

"Is that your _actual_ laugh?"

"Just make fun of it," Max responded, sitting up.

"What? No, it's fucking adorable!" Yakko grinned down at Max, doing a little loop in the air as Max stared at him.

"Sure," Max sarcastically said, frowning. Yakko dove forward, pausing when they were nose to nose. " _Dead_ serious, that's the cutest laugh I've ever heard!" Yakko grinned. Max flushed, looking at Yakko before glancing away.

"Thanks, man. That was a horrible joke." Yakko laughed, darting back to his mic stand. He put it into his hammerspace and floated back to sit next to Max. "Wanna play truth or dare?" Yakko excitedly asked. His tail wagged, causing a chill to rush through Max's thigh from where they connected. Yakko didn't seem to mind because he didn't move, instead staring pleadingly at Max, batting his eyelashes.

"Can for a bit, then I might go back to bed." Max said, leaning back into the couch. Yakko clapped, leaning forward. "I'll start! Truth or dare, Maxy?"

"Truth," Max replied. Yakko pouted before responding. "Have you ever broken a law?"

"A few, mainly trespassing though so not a big deal," Max said, glancing at the ghost. "Why're you staring at me like that?" 

Yakko shook his head, shrugging. "Dunno. Now ask me, ask me!" He said, grinning wide. Max rolled his eyes. "Truth or dare?" He flatly asked.

"Uhhhhh, dare!"

"I'll give you a truth."

"What? No, I-"

"Have _you_ broken any laws?" Max asked. Yakko pouted again, deflating as he answered. "Maybe one or two? I wasn't in the outside world for most of my life so I didn't get the opportunity to break as many as I wish I could've. Truth or dare?"

"Truth,"

"You're boring!" Yakko exclaimed, crossing his arms. "Were you scared when you snuck onto the lot and found me?" Yakko asked.

"I wasn't scared, I didn't believe in the paranormal, remember?" Max asked. Yakko nodded, staring at Max until he was asked truth or dare again.

"Dare!"

"I've been curious and you haven't given a good answer, so I dare you to tell me how you died." Max said.

Yakko frowned. "Truth then,"

"It's the same thing, tell me how you died." Max said. Yakko groaned, rubbing his eye. "Really? It's not that great," Yakko said. Max nodded, seriousness on his face. Yakko whined before leaning back, getting comfy as a ghost could as he thought about what to say.

**_____**

_It'd happened quick. Yakko had just finished his morning cup of coffee, still snacking on his usual breakfast bagel. Wakko was napping on the couch next to him, and Yakko reached out and brushed his hat back a bit so he could pet the top of Wakko's head. He stood from the couch and stretched before wandering to the kitchen, humming a tune to himself. He went to take a bite of his bagel before he suddenly tripped, slamming face first into the metal wall._

_He heard Wakko shout but there was a loud ringing in his ears that made him unable to understand what his brother was saying. He was lying on his stomach, face pressed to the floor. He slowly sat up, head spinning. He felt something run down his cheek and shakily reached up to wipe it away. When Yakko pulled his hand away he found streams of blood dripping off his hand. He looked down and saw pools of the sticky red liquid surrounding him._

_It felt comical, the way he fell. He almost chuckled at the thought until the pain became a burning sensation and more blood ran down his face._ _Jokes didn't hurt and toons weren't supposed to bleed._

_His stomach curled and he felt like puking but his head was light. He felt a hand on his shoulder before he slumped face first into the wall again, falling unconscious._

_Yakko opened his eyes onto a terrifying sight. He was looking down at his own body, surrounded by blood, with his younger siblings sobbing next to him._

_Or, what used to be him?_

_He watched as Wakko shook his shoulder, sobbing out broken cries of 'big brother, big brother come back!'. It shattered Yakko's heart. Dot pulled a phone out of her hammerspace, frantically making a call, crying as she explained to the person what happened. Wakko and Dot cradled him as they waited for the professionals to come._

_Eventually Plotz unlocked the tower, allowing the professionals in. Yakko watched as they took his own self's vitals and pronounced him dead._

_Dot's shriek and Wakko's sobs still haunted his memory today._

_He watched as the professionals went to get his body, only to be stopped by a snarling Wakko and a claw-bearing, growling Dot. His siblings attacked the guy, growling and crying as they protected their older brother. It wasn't until Plotz had Ralph go in with muzzles that the attack stopped. The victim shakily stood before being helped out of the tower. Yakko observed as Plotz consoled the now muzzled Wakko and Dot, who's yells and cries were still perfectly clear as the professionals took his body out of the tower._

_They didn't even clean the blood._

_Yakko followed his siblings the rest of the day. His heart broke as he watched them pile together and cry their hearts out, wailing for their older brother as their whimpers echoed in the emptier tower. He watched as they carved 'We love you' on his bed._

_His heart ached as they cried themselves to sleep._

**_____**

"I tripped and fell face first into the wall," Yakko said, shrugging.

" _That's_ how you died? How does that even happen?" Max asked, wide eyed.

"Dunno. It happened really quick, and it's starting to fade from my memory."

Max stared at the toon next to him. Who'd have thought the guy, a _toon_ who wasn't supposed to die, died from tripping over his own feet. Max had to hand it to Yakko, he was even clumsier than Max himself. The two played a few more rounds before Yakko said he was done. The toon had seemed more subdued after Max's question about his death, and Max made a mental note to make it up to the toon sometime. Yakko disappeared and Max went to bed, falling into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave it to yakko to die by tripping over his own feet 🙄
> 
> also if it isn't clear the italics were a flashback and yakko didn't tell max any of that
> 
> anyway i know it's weird, it's loosely based off a fear of mine bc i'm the clumsiest fucking person and am terrified i'm gonna crack my skull open one day but this will make more sense in the end
> 
> sorry for the short and kinda bland chapter today BUT the next chapter has a few big things happening so 😏


End file.
